I’ve battled depression since I was a teenager and anxiety that followed me into college. I’ve struggled with binge eating, restricting, being scared to eat, eating because it was the only thing that made me feel better, and over-exercising because I thought I needed to earn my food or punish myself for it. I’ve spent years comparing my body to other girls, feeling too big, then becoming too small, and thinking changing my body would somehow change the way I felt about myself. I’ve been cheated on by someone I loved, lost people I thought would be in my life forever, watched my athletic career end because of an injury, lost the identity I had built my entire life around, struggled to find a job, watched other people seemingly get ahead of me, and had moments where I genuinely felt like I was YEARS behind where I was “supposed” to be. And I know it sounds so stupid when you’re in the middle of it and someone tells you “everything happens for a reason,”because when you’re hurting, you don’t want to hear that 😭 But I swear, hindsight really is 20/20. Looking back, some of the things I begged to work out differently are the EXACT things that pushed me toward the person and life I have now. Losing my sport led me to bodybuilding. Struggling with food taught me how to actually fuel and take care of my body. Heartbreak taught me my worth. Losing people taught me who was meant to stay. Feeling completely lost forced me to find a new direction. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the versions of me who genuinely had no idea how she was going to get through it. So if you feel behind right now, if everyone else seems like they’re getting everything you want, if your plans are falling apart, or if you genuinely have NO idea what you’re doing with your life… WAIT. Keep going. Keep working on yourself. You are not supposed to understand every setback while you’re living through it. Sometimes you only understand once you’re far enough away to look back and connect the dots. Rejection is redirection.The door closing, the person leaving, the plan failing, the version of your life ending, it might just be redirecting you toward somewhere you never would’ve found on your own. You will get where you’re meant to be, even if right now it feels like you’re nowhere close 🤍 #gymgirls #motivation #relatable #MentalHealth #GymTok - @sydneyxfreeman